


MARVELous March Prompt Challenge

by amethyst_flame



Category: Captain America (Movies), Guardians of the Galaxy (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Marvelous March Prompts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-02
Updated: 2018-03-03
Packaged: 2019-03-26 02:41:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,232
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13848366
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amethyst_flame/pseuds/amethyst_flame
Summary: This is a collection of one-shots (and some artwork) for the MARVELous March prompt challenge, put together by VampOrchid and myself. You can find more information on the challenge here:MARVELous March Prompts.Some of these posts will be a part of my Broken Chances 'verse. Most are one-shots that stand on their own. A few are linked together.Enjoy (and please come join us for the challenge!).





	1. Open

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt One: Open 
> 
> Tony faces Bucky after the events of Infinity War.

Tony adjusts his collar, and shuffles his feet. Clears his throat and straightens his shoulders. 

He told Steve he was okay with this. That he was ready. 

Well, no. That’s not quite right. He told T’Challa, who was behind this whole thing, who told Steve. And Tony agreed because, after everything they’d been through in the last week, after everything they almost lost (the thought of their close call, almost losing Steve, leaves his chest aching), he wanted to believe that he was ready to leave everything behind him and move on. Move forward. 

Heal. 

The hallway door opens, and T’Challa is standing there, somehow still regal in a t-shirt and jeans. 

“Are you ready? They are waiting downstairs for you.” 

And so Tony nods, pastes on his best smile, and steps forward. “Let’s do this.” 

They ride an elevator down, and he follows the king of Wakanda through another hallway until they stop before a closed steel door. The other man takes one last look back at him, gaze questioning. 

Tony nods sharply, his eyes unwavering from the door. 

T’Challa knocks, and he hears a scuffle from the other side. Whispered voices. And then the door opens and Steve is standing there, still bandaged up with his arm in a sling, but okay, and he sees Tony and he smiles, just a little unsure, but still friendly. 

“Tony. It’s good to see you.” 

This is their first time like this, facing each other, after Siberia. 

“Cap. Glad you’re still with us.” 

And it’s not what he wanted to say. But he can’t think of anything else. The man of a million words, and they’ve left him. 

Steve huffs a little laugh. “It was close. I have to wear the sling for the next week, but at least I talked the doctors out of a cast.” He glances away, and then looks back. “Did you want to come in?” 

And, no, he doesn’t. Not really. But it’s Steve. And T’Challa is looking at him expectantly. And damn if he can’t just say no. 

“Yeah. Let’s get this over with.” 

Steve looks pensive, and T’Challa gives him a seeking look, but Tony tries to ignore them and moves towards the door. Steve steps aside, and holds it open. 

Tony looks across the room and _there_.There he is. Arms at his side, but shoulders tense. Looking just as uneasy as Tony felt. 

“Barnes.” 

“Tony,” the man responds with a sharp nod. 

“So, what’s the story, Pollyanna? You have your head sorted out now?” 

“Tony…” 

Tony ignores the young king’s warning, his gaze never leaving Barnes. (And seriously, did Wakanda not have hair stylists? Or someone who could tame to mop on his head?)

“I have my memories back. I remember everything that I did. Everyone I hurt. But Hydra’s programming is gone. I’m my own person now. And I’m sorry for the pain my actions caused.” It sounds like he’s been rehearsing it for a while. But the look on his face--pained and apologetic--is sincere. 

Tony stands still. He wants to hate the guy, and maybe a part of him still does. But the machine who killed his parents isn’t the man who fought to save the planet. He’s not the man who nearly died himself while trying to rescue Steve, and who worked with the rest of the team, despite their past differences. 

And lord knows, Tony know what it feels like to have regrets that are eating you up inside. And he knows what it’s like to have his mind under someone else’s control, even briefly. 

“I don’t know if I’m ever going to like you.” 

Steve tenses, but Bucky just nods in understanding. 

Tony continues. “But after the last few days, I trust you with the lives of the people I care about. Are you coming back to New York?”

Barnes shakes his head. “Not yet. I think I might stay in Wakanda for while longer. But if you need me,” he pauses and looks at Steve, “If you need us…” 

“We’ll still be there, Tony,” Steve finishes. “You know that. I just think we need a break for a while. A lot has happened in the last seventy-five years. We’re taking a break, just for a little while.” 

And fair enough. He can respect that. 

He walks across the room to Bucky. Steve tenses, but T’Challa quiets him with a whispered word. Finally he stops and holds out his hand. Bucky takes it, eyes meeting his. 

“Welcome to the team, Barnes.”


	2. Brothers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A younger Loki deals with the challenges of being Thor's brother.

“Thor! Give it back!” Loki leapt after his brother, trying to reach the small book held just beyond his reach. He had to be careful; the book was old and valuable, and utterly impossible to replace. 

Not that his great oaf of a brother seemed to mind. At nearly fourteen years old, his brother was older and taller, and had zero interest in anything that didn’t involve sparring and playing at conquest.

“Come play with us, Loki. You’ve been cooped up in your rooms all day. The weather is beautiful, and there are adventures to be had.” 

He leapt again, this time colliding roughly with Thor and knocking them both to the ground. “I don’t want to play with your stupid friends.” A well-aimed elbow to his brother’s stomach had him folding in, finally letting Loki grasp the arm with the book, yanking it down closer. His hands grasped at the tome, but Thor still would not relent. 

“Enough, brother. I’ll give it back before dinner if you will take a break.” 

Loki growled. He was right in the middle of perfecting a new spell, so close to a break-through, and waiting was not an option. 

When the idiot still refused to release the book, he did the only thing he could think. He pressed his mouth closer to his brother’s arm, and bit down.

Thor shouted, pulling back, and shaking his arm, as if to throw his brother off by force. Loki dropped to the ground, right next to the discarded book. He grabbed it, and rolled, putting several feet between them. 

Thor stood, arm upraised as he watched blood well from Loki’s teeth marks. “You _bit_ me!” 

“You stole my book.” 

“You drew blood!” 

Well, yes. There was no denying that. “I’m sure you’ll survive.”

Thor gave him a look of betrayal. “I just wanted you to play with us.” 

And _he_ didn’t wish to be belittled and bullied by Thor and his friends. The last time, they made him play as a witch, which ended in Loki being dumped in a river and left to fend for himself while they all ran back to the castle without him. He’d rather spend time with his studies. 

“No.” 

He turned and walked back to his room, slamming the door behind him. 

The door opened again a second later. Loki really needed to perfect a spell that would keep it closed whenever his family tried to open it. 

“What now?” he asked, not even bothering to turn around. 

“Brother, please.” 

Loki sighed, turning around, book hidden safely behind his back. 

“Thor, I do not wish to be the butt of your jokes this afternoon. Perhaps some other day.” 

“Do you mean that? Maybe tomorrow?” 

And Loki took pity on him, with the way his eyes lit up with hope. He had no idea why this mattered so much to his brother, to have him involved in his mock adventures, but it made the other boy happy. 

And as much as Thor annoyed him, he still cared to see him happy. 

“Yes. Fine. Tomorrow, after lunch. But only if I don’t get left in the river again.” 

Thor’s brows furrowed. “The river? Oh! Right. No, we won’t be near the river this time.” And with that, he turned and left the room. 

Loki shook his head, and set down his treasured book, reaching instead for one of the larger volumes on his shelf. Perhaps it was time to start working on some more useful spells.


	3. Heart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day Three of the MARVELous March prompt challenge. Today's prompt: Heart
> 
> Tony's life takes on a new direction after Pepper leaves.

_Proof that Tony Stark has a Heart_

Tony rubbed the scars on his chest, and stared blearily at the remnants of his old arc reactor. The bottle in his hand is nearly gone, and he wonders vaguely if he’s too drunk to make it into the cellar for a new one. 

If Dum-E wasn’t so likely to drop it, he’d send him for a new one. 

It’s been one week since Pepper moved out. He thinks. All he knows is he was gone on an Avengers PR trip, and when he came back, she was gone. There was a note on his pillowcase citing irreparable differences. And a few days later, a phone call. He’d begged her to come home, and she had refused. 

And that was that. 

He picked up the arc reactor, and threw it as hard as he could against the nearest wall. It bounced off, dropping to the ground without breaking. At least one of his hearts was unbreakable. 

His cell phone rings. He ignores it. If the world needs saving, he’s in no shape to go. If it’s anyone else? Well, he doesn’t care. 

The rest of the team was upstate in the new Avengers facility. He was due up there in a few days. Until then, he was going to do his best not to feel a single thing. 

The thing was, he spent the last few years building a life around Pepper. She’d been his rock for so long that falling in love was easy. And then New York happened, and everything that followed, and all he could think was that, if he ever let her go unprotected, he’d lose her. 

Turned out, he lost her anyhow. But at least she was safe, somewhere out of his life. 

The Avengers didn’t need him all that often. He was called in for the big stuff, but there wasn’t much of it anymore. Steve had the team in hand. Tony just dumped money into the venture and improved their gear. 

And now, it was just him in the tower. The tower that was meant to be a home. For him. For Pepper. For the team. Except everyone else had moved on to better things. 

They didn’t really need him anymore. 

The phone rang again. He picked it up, turned it in his hand, and then threw it after the arc reactor. It exploded in a shower of metal and plastic, ringing through the lab with a satisfying crack. He huffed, lips twitching up in a mock smile.

Maybe he should retire. Pepper ran Stark Industries with a firm hand. Steve had the Avengers. Maybe his use had simply run out. Maybe he’d go somewhere warm, where no one cared about Tony Stark or the Avengers. Or maybe he’d follow Barton, go start a farm. Grow organic produce and raise chickens. He had enough money to do it, more than enough. He could pack and be gone by tomorrow morning. 

How long, he wondered, would it take for anyone to notice he was gone?

A while, he thought. It would take a while. As long as he set it up so that regular deposits were being made to fund the team, and as long as he still shipped out any new tech he developed (he couldn’t leave that behind, regardless. He couldn’t imagine a life without tinkering and building and creating), they might not even notice at all. 

“Jarvis, pull up a web browser.” 

“Mr. Stark?” Friday’s voice was an unwelcome reminder. 

“Sorry. Friday, please pull up–” 

The screen appeared before him. He pulled up 3D globe on another workspace, spinning it, and then sticking his finger out to see where it would land.

Australia. Yeah. That would work. 

He typed in Australian real estate, and started digging through possible new homes. Of course, they’d all need some modifications, but he’d like something comfortable. Small. No need for a dozen bedrooms; it would be just him living there.

He was starting to sober up, but the idea still felt like a good one, so he kept looking. 

An hour later, he’s typing up an email to a real estate agent, expressing interest, with plans of buying the place within the next 24 hours. He didn’t need to see it ahead of time. There were thirty or more pictures on the site–slightly sloping fields, trees, a few pastures, a pond, and an old farmhouse–and he’s just going to change what he doesn’t like anyhow. 

“Mr. Stark, you have a visitor seeking entrance to the workshop.” 

“Tell them I’m busy.” He didn’t bother looking away from the screen. Maybe he’d buy some cows. Or buffalo. Did they have buffalo in Australia?

“It’s Colonel Rhodes, sir. And he’s insisting.”

Dammit. Anyone else would eventually leave. Rhodey was just stubborn enough to stay until Tony walked out. 

“Let him in.” Maybe he would help Tony pack. 

“Tony, what the hell, man? I’ve been trying to reach you all week!” 

“Phone’s broke.” He gestured to the mess of pieces on the workshop floor. 

There was a pause. “I see.” The man walked over to Tony’s workstation, seeing the pictures of what was about to be his new farmhouse. “Nice place. Going on vacation?” 

“I’m retiring.”

“What now?” 

“Retiring. Calling it quits. I’m done.” 

“Uh huh.” Rhodey pulled over a chair. “Talk to me, Tony. What’s going on?” 

Tony glanced up at him, and then over to the arc reactor, still in it’s case on the floor. “Why are you here?” 

Rhodey sighed. “Pepper called me.” 

“Yeah? If she sent you over here to check on me, I’m fine.” 

“You’re fine,” Rhodey repeated, and Tony could hear the disbelief in his voice.

“Yep.” He popped the ‘p’. “Never better.” 

“I see that.”

Tony spun his chair around to look at his friend, trying to ignore the way his head ached with the movement. “Are you here to do anything useful, or are you just here to report back to Pepper?” 

“I’m here for you. I didn’t know, Tony. I didn’t have any idea that she was leaving.” 

“Doesn’t matter. She doesn’t need me. The rest of the Avengers don’t need me. All of this work, everything I’ve done? Was so that I could leave a legacy behind. I’ve done that. Now, I’m going to live out the rest of my life in peace.” 

“Tony–” Rhodey stopped, shook his head. “People still need you, man. The Avengers need you. Hell, I need you. You don’t get to do this, just give up and walk away. Pepper left, and I’m sorry, but that doesn’t mean the rest of us are going anywhere.” 

Tony sat up. “You don’t get it. Do you want to know what I’m good for? I pay the team. I make sure their equipment keeps them safe, that they have every advantage I can give them. But they don’t need me out there. I’m not a soldier, Rhodey. I never was. I’m just a man, and now, I’m leaving all of this up to people who actually know what they’re doing. Remember Ultron? That was my fault. All those people who died? Their blood is on my hands. It’s better if I stop now, before I do anything worse.” 

“Is that really what you think?” 

Tony let out a breath. There was no good way to answer this question. Nothing that would give Rhodey the answer he needed to back off and just let him go. So instead, he shrugs. 

“I’m writing the seller’s agent, and I plan on flying out tomorrow to sign whatever forms they need. Did you want to go with me?” 

“No, dammit. What I want is for you to sober up and snap out of this. Why don’t you give it a week, alright? One week. I’ll stay here. We can call the team down, or we can go up to the compound, but what you’re not going to do is spend more time alone. If I hadn’t been on a mission, I would have been here Tuesday when she called me. I did try calling.” 

Tony glanced back to the screen, staring at the rolling hills and quaint farmhouse. 

“This isn’t you, Tony.” 

“Maybe I want it to be.” He looked back to Rhodey. “One week. I’ll give you one week.” 

Rhodey nodded. “You won’t regret it. And, seriously, farming?” 

“At Barton’s… I don’t know. Everything was falling apart, but fixing tractors? Splitting wood? I don’t know. It wasn’t awful.” 

“Alright, I get that.” He thought a minute. “You know, I think my cousin has an old farmhouse in New Hampshire. Hasn’t lived there in years. It used to be his parent’s, and he lives in Dallas. He hasn’t been out this way in years. He might agree to let you help look after the place. I can call him in the morning. Maybe you can go out there on the weekends, or stay there, but still be close enough to get to New York whenever you need to be here.” 

Tony let the idea roll around in his head for a minute. “If that doesn’t work out, maybe I could find a farm that’s a little closer to the compound.” 

Rhodey set a hand on Tony’s shoulder. “I get it, alright? Losing Pepper was a hard blow, but just because she left, it doesn’t mean the rest of us are leaving, or that we don’t need you, alright?” 

“Yeah. Sure.” And he didn’t believe him, not really. Not yet. But he’d give it a week. Maybe give Steve a call, and see about visiting the compound with Rhodey in a few days. If nothing else, he could look at a few farms while he was up that way.

***

_Two Weeks Later_

“Are you sure about this?” 

Tony stood in front of a farmhouse, Steve beside him. Rhodey stood on the other side. He’d driven them both out this morning, leaving the compound, grabbing breakfast at a little roadside dinner, and then, finally, driving down the long driveway and stopping in front of the little farm. It was less than an hour from the compound, only three bedrooms, and on close to a hundred acres. 

“I have chickens being delivered on Thursday. And the neighbor’s boy is going to help take care of things when I can’t be here.” 

It would need work, but it was his. He still had the tower to go back to, and he was within a short drive of the rest of the team. It wasn’t Australia. But maybe it was exactly what he needed.

“I’m proud of you, Tony. I think this will be good for you.” Steve patted him on the shoulder. “The quiet life.” 

“Whatever, man. Call me when you have extra eggs. The little market near my apartment jacked up the price again. I want some farm-fresh eggs without having to sell a kidney to afford them.” 

Tony smirked. 

It wasn’t what he’d imagined. It wasn’t his happily ever after with Pepper. And his heart was still shattered after her loss. But this home (and that’s what it would be–no unfeeling metal and glass rooms, no cold, impersonal decor) was a new beginning, a chance to step back and take stock. 

And, maybe, if he was really lucky, a place to rebuild and start new.


End file.
